Reincarnated into a Game as the Hero’s Friend - Chapter 22
After leaving the Commerce Guild, I head to the Adventurers Guild and Mercenaries Guild. Like its name, it’s a place where adventurers and mercenaries gather.
The Adventurers Guild and Mercenaries Guild used to be a separate organization. Well, they are still a separate organization. There are many times when the work between an adventurer and a mercenary overlap, so each guild is set up side by side in the same building. The building becomes a place for both the mercenaries and adventurers to exchange information and job opportunities.
On the first floor is a bar which is typical for a Mercenaries and Adventurers Guild. Is the reason why there is no other Mercenaries and Adventurers Guild in the capital except for this one because this world is originally a game?
Hmm… I think I need to confirm the existence of this kind of guild in the town that didn’t appear in the game.
I received many stares the second I entered the building, but that’s all. The reason why I didn’t receive the typical newbie bullying is the recent demon outbreak.
I’ve battled in the frontline. I also shared my potions with many adventurer parties that participated in the battle. I don’t know if they are thankful for me or not, but at the very least, only the people that’ve been living under the rock won’t recognize me here.
Surprisingly, information travels fast among the adventures and mercenaries. Well, that’s not surprising considering the nature of their works. No one wants to invite danger to themselves by receiving a commission from a strange person or an idiot. Though some mercenaries or adventurers might take up a commission from that kind of employer in exchange for absurd pay.
“Welcome to the Adventurers Guild. What can we do for you today?
“I want to hire some people.”
“So you want to put a commission. Please come this way.”
The receptionist is a beautiful woman. I wonder if she could deal with the rough adventurer? No, maybe it’s because she’s a beautiful woman, so the adventurer won’t dare to do anything to her.
The room the receptionist invited me to is soundproof. This is because there are some commissions where it’s dangerous if the information about it were to leak.
The staff member who is in charge of listening to my commission is a man. No! Of course, I’m not disappointed by the fact that the beautiful woman left me here with a man.
“How may I help you?”
“I want to make an investigation commission. I want to hire several competent scouts.”
“Specifically, how many scouts do you wish to hire?”
“There are several places that I want to investigate, so it’s hard to determine the exact number. My estimate is that I need about 20 people. If any scouts excel in working independently, I don’t mind letting them work alone.”
“I see.”
The man writes on the board in his hand. It’s a record board that serves as a notebook. After writing in a piece of lambskin parchment or demonskin parchment, the surface of the board will then be thinly carved and will act as a notebook.
“Here is the list of places I want to investigate ordered by their priority. I will assign suitable places to those who want to work with groups and those who prefer working alone.”
“I certainly have received it. One more thing, can our adventurers refuse after listening to the details of the places you wish to investigate?”
“Yes. After all, not all investigations are safe. I will offer more pay as compensation for the more dangerous place.”
While nodding his head, the man continues to write on the board. Well, rather than saying he ‘writes’, it’s more correct to say he filled the carved place on the board with ink. He used a quill pen. The feather of the pen is made from the feather of a bird-type demonic beast. It’s said that the feather of a demonic beast lasts longer compared to a feather of a normal board. I don’t know if it’s true, though.
“Hmm… But if we follow your system, it would be impossible for me to record the exact amount of pay that will be received by our adventurers.”
“There will be base pay and additional pay depending on the danger of the site. Of course, the pay for the guild will also be calculated using the same formula with extra.”
“Thank you very much.”
Needless to say, a guild isn’t a volunteer organization. They need to pay the salaries of their staff, the building maintenance cost, and even the damage caused by some random drunkard that goes on a rampage and destroys their facility.
The guild’s main income is from the sale of various materials from purchased demonic beasts and demons’ carcasses and the guild’s commission fees. Most troublesome commissions like mine are sent to adventurers via the guild. There’s an unwritten rule that you must pay an additional 20% of the total adventurers fee for the guild commission fee.
The typical posting of the commission on the walls existed, but the postings often only contained a bare minimum of information.
I guess that’s to be expected. There’s not enough space to write the details of the commission. There are also cases where the client is someone in a delicate position or when the commission involved a spying activity in which the detailed information can’t be easily disclosed.
That’s why when adventurers decide to take a commission, they will first ask the guild for detailed information about the commission. The client often already told the guild the information beforehand, so the guild can explain it to the adventurers.
If the guild cannot explain the commission in detail, they will ask the adventurers to contact the clients directly. I think my commission this time will follow this pattern.
“Then, may I ask for the contents of the investigation?”
“All I can tell you now is that I want to investigate the frequency of demons’ appearance in the suburb of Gulbelk, the situation of demons’ appearance in the Heat Haze Ruins near Delmenln, and the state of security in Bielelitz Bridge.”
Because some places I’ve mentioned are located outside the kingdom, the guild official looked at me doubtfully. Well, sending scouts to foreign nations might seem like preparation for war.
The reason he asked me for the content of the investigations is to make sure that I’m not trying to investigate the actions of the kingdom’s nobles. It’s the guild’s policy to stay far away from the kingdom’s political strife.
“You see, I need to buy some goods from the places I mentioned, so I’m going to send a merchant party there. But because of the recent peculiar demon outbreak, I’m trying to be cautious.”
“Ah, so that’s why.”
Obviously, the information about a devil causing a demon outbreak has reached the guild. I made a commission to hire scouts to ensure that a similar demon outbreak didn’t happen in another area.
If the information I want is just the simple ‘the lord of this place is incompetent so there’s been an increase of bandits!’ I can just buy it from the guild. But for information concerning a possible demon outbreak, the information should be real-time information hence the need for scouts.
“My plan is for the scouts to go first to the location and gather the necessary information. After that, they will join the merchants and share their information with the merchant. Then after the merchant finishes their business, the scouts will return here together with the merchants.”
“I understand. Then, in the case that the scouts are involved in protecting the merchant…”
“I will provide additional compensation. But, if the information gathered by the scouts leaked outside, I will deduce their compensation as a penalty.”
“What if there is someone among the scouts that wishes to return to the capital first?”
“They are free to do so as long as they report to the person in charge of the merchant party. In that case, they will only receive the amount stated on the original contract.”
“That’s fair. As for the cost of investigation?”
“It depends on where they are going to investigate. I expect an investigation in the town will cost some money, but I can’t provide an unlimited amount of money for the cost. The amount of money given to the scouts for an investigation will be decided after a discussion with the scout in question.”
That’s how I finished explaining the details of my commission and various conditions for payment to the guild. I need to share as much detail of the commission as I can because if I don’t, there are risks that various troubles will occur in the future.
I’m pretty sure when the scouts return, they will report the latest local information to the guild.
I have to assume that this is a matter of course and, because of the revival of the demon king, I’m sure that the frequency of demons’ appearance in various places will drastically increase. The guild should have up-to-date information about demons’ appearance rate.
Because with accurate up-to-date information, the number of potential deaths can decrease.